SET DESIGN

This production was to be a large-scale fantasy drama to entertain families at Christmas. The theatre was very large and purpose built for such performances but the main problem with putting on The Witches is the issue of scale. The multi-locational aspects of the story paled into insignificance when confronted by the fact that much of the action of the play has the lead actors playing mice.

In the story, Boy, an orphan, travels with his ailing Grandmother to the seaside resort of Bournemouth where he unwittingly becomes the victim of a coven of witches who are holding thier annual conference in the same hotel. Boy and another child are turned into mice and have to survive the violent prejudices of the horrified hotel residents to get back to Grandmother and save the day.

Designing the production was a fanstastic exercise in letting the imagination run riot. I devised puppets and props designed to accomodate them, scenery that could give the illusion of people shrinking (special effects by Nigel Worsley) and made the most of pouring colour into everything to make everying a bit larger and brighter than life...as might be seen through the curious eyes of a child.

The set itself was designed to be interactive with trapdoors and parts that opened out and curtains that closed. In order to solve the scale issue, the set was designed to appear like a corner of a child's playroom with an old-fashioned toy theatre, building blocks and large tome books piled up to give access to the upper level. With the use of lighting (designed by Richard Bunn and Damien Lazell) to isolate various areas of the stage, we were able to create the illusion that the two children, dressed as mice, could be seen to scurry across a vast expanse of tiled floor or climb a mountainous staircase to move around the set.

I was assisted with costume by Corrine Darroux whose feel for colour and texture made the characters jump out of the play and Nikki Sowah who interpreted all the special effects gadgets and props in a style that added a whole new dimension to the piece. The puppet mice - of which there were about 20 - were designed and made by Jenny Templeton. The set was constructed by Mike Hagan and Karen Cherrington with scenic art by Dennis Dracup. The director was Philip Sheahan.

JENNIE RAWLINGS